UM gets signature win of Golden era

Miami's win against Florida says 'Canes on way back

MIAMI GARDENS — That run. Did you see Al Golden make that crazy victory run?

Did you watch him yank off his headphones on the sideline with a few seconds left Saturday and Usain-Bolt it across the field into Florida coach Will Muschamp's face?

This was it, of course. This was the moment that translated Miami's 21-16 win for anyone needing a translation. This run said Saturday was the giddy, signature win Golden has chased since arriving at Miami.

He didn't just make the all-out sprint, play sheet aloft, to give Muschamp's hand a quick pump. He turned and ran toward midfield. He motioned his players to follow him to thank fans in the end zone. He kept moving, looking back at followers, like Forrest Gump down the highway.

"It was almost cathartic," Golden said of that run. "It was like 26 months unleashed there in the last four or five seconds."

Saturday doesn't mean Miami's back — we'll get to that in a moment — but it's the stepping-stone they need to get on their way back. It said the hope floating around the Hurricanes isn't some airy, ethereal mist you see on the set of Les Miserables.

It's real. It's tangible. And it has a scoreboard now, thanks to a defense that caused five turnovers, had a fourth-down stop, held Florida to two scores in six red-zone chances and allowed Miami coaches to do something undetected by the stat sheet.

"We believed in the defense for the first time in a while," Golden said. "We didn't feel like we had to air it out and maybe end up getting an interception or a sack and a fumble."

The play of the day, probably the season and maybe the full Golden Era came with a relevant back story.

Florida was driving midway through the fourth quarter for the go-ahead score in the manner they seemed to be driving all game (they outgained Miami, 413 yards to 212).

Miami cornerback Tracy Howard stepped in front of quarterback Jeff Driskel's pass at the 12-yard line. Two years ago, Florida and Miami chased Howard. Muschamp even sat with his parents when Howard's Miramar High played for the state title.

Now Howard was running the interception up the sideline and Miami out of trouble.

"We've been battling this thing," Golden said, alluding to the NCAA investigation, "and obviously [Florida] is one of the team we've been battling during this thing. I think you guys can figure that out."

For 26 months, Golden has felt like he's fighting Florida with one hand holding the NCAA handbook. That's why to beat them on the open field felt good.

"Our guys fought and scratched and clawed," he said. "Sometimes you've got to win like that."

Florida's Saturday story is different. It's about an offense asked to be ball-control average that kept turning the ball over. But the day turned even stranger when Muschamp's first words were to blame the defense.

"We had breakdowns the first couple of drives that helped them to score," Muschamp said.

When a defensive-minded coach always sees defense first, that's a question of football philosophy more than fundamentals. Florida has a great defense and limited offense.

That will only take you so far.

Golden tried to strike a balance between embracing the win and understanding the program, "has a long way to go."

For that matter, this team does, too.

The 413 yards its defense surrendered are too many. Its 212 offensive yards were the fewest since 2009.

So is Miami back? Not now. Not yet. But you can't oversell this as Golden's biggest win here considering the competition was a win against a troubled Ohio State team in 2011 or at Duke last year to make the ACC Championship Game (later vacated for NCAA reasons).

It's a shame this is probably it for this series, a shame Florida doesn't need this game as much as Miami does. Saturday was a fun day of football shown by the 76,968 fans — the biggest for a Hurricane game at Sun Life Stadium.

After the game, after his news conference, Golden walked down the stadium concourse. Muschamp passed by. They shook hands again, this time at the end of a long day.

"Congrats," Muschamp said.

"Thanks," Golden said.

That was Saturday's story. It was Golden's signature moment. Congrats, even from a disappointed opponent, were in order.